


Neutral Ground

by RoseyWinter



Series: A Side of Sanders Shots [18]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Blood, Gen, Purple Prose, Unresolved Emotional Tension, blood mention, slight Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27208261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseyWinter/pseuds/RoseyWinter
Summary: Before Janus was accepted, he often played the part of a villain if only to create common ground between conflicting sides.
Relationships: None
Series: A Side of Sanders Shots [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984643
Kudos: 7





	Neutral Ground

It's always uncomfortable when people fight. Especially when those that are fighting are a family you can't escape from. Words thrown and whipped back twice as hard; a warzone of bleeding feelings left in the sun to melt and rot and fester, to sink back into the water table the well draws from and drunk again. Poison left over and built up and built onto until nothing is left but a burnt bridge no more picturesque than smoldering grudges.

It was at these times that deception was a trait best served hot, covered in spice so thick you could barely taste the venom underneath. Small white tendrils of smoke curling at the nose to direct and choreograph as if leading a cartoon character to fresh pancakes. The image shifts and flashes in a millisecond, a hint of advertised reality to break through the illusion only to be gone when next you blinked. It was easier, safer, to remain neutral, to play both sides as if they were right and hope in the end you kept enough ground for yourself to stand on.

A fight between two had been ongoing for weeks, a petty argument turned steady conflict in the wake of stubborn morale and half hearted sentimentality. He had watched from the shadows, flinching at slammed doors and muttered insults that shook walls on the surface but foundations deeper down. He watched through silent standoffs and misinterpreted half assed apologies. He watched through screaming matches and passive aggressive helpfulness. He watched as one hid away and listened as another ranted to him. He watched as one turned to brood and listened as the other asked him why.

Offer mostly what they wanted to hear and little bits of what they should, the needed words falling flat on reddening ears but the wanted ones soothed and nurtured into raging flames that masked the shame. Play neutral to wishful thinking that only ran as far as the anger and dismiss permanence as the changing thing it was. Nod along and express at the right bits and hide away when most convenient for the others, never mind the deathly crawl of skin torn open from refusing to budge from the crossfire, left seeping and untreated if only to save them from gaping wounds of their own.

Then an opportunity. A little white lie, manipulative story that could be taken differently and was. Denial of words left to be twisted, an argument broken out because of carefully placed peices left teetering on the edge. He sighed quietly in the peace that was left, himself the common enemy yet again as hushed whispered of hatred formed common ground between them. A martyr wasn't something he particularly strived to be, but if it suited him in that moment Janus supposed he couldn't complain.

Alone he returned to his place carved out for himself, a locked sanctuary all could enter but never would. Hurt was filed away for a later date if he felt the need for self pity, tears left to sour on unwashed cheeks as he tucked himself in for the foreseeable future. Once again the safety of scarcity cloaked him in its darkness, whispering sweet nothings as he trembled under a weight heavier than the blankets he wrapped as a shield. Who was he if not the default enemy to hurl collective insults at as a stress relief?

Common ground in a warzone was often still bloody afterall.


End file.
